Is it called in or on Ås?
Is it called in or on Ås?
Many people scratch their head when they try to explain where they study; do you say in or on Ås? In English, it's pretty clear, but in Norwegian this is a real question. Among the students, few actually know for sure which it is, and in the Facebook group «Ås kommunes venner» there is a large disagreement. Is it possible to get to the bottom of this bottomless question?
Journalist and illustrator: Simen Walbækken Tangen
Translator: Astrid Kisen
The use of the prepositions on or in for place names is usually something people have just decided for themselves, and they think it's weird if the other preposition is used. When it comes to Ås, people are split in the use of the words. Some people think it's possible to use both words, while others are set on one of them. It is clear that there’s a distinction between the town centre Ås and Ås municipality.
The name Ås originates from Ås rectory. In 1859, the rectory was purchased by the state to become The Higher Agricultural College in Ås, later Norwegian Agricultural College (NHL), University of Environmental- and Biological Science (UMB) and today Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). The rectory also gave its name to Ås Municipality, which at the time was a parish. After Ås train station opened up in 1879, the town eventually took form around it. In older times, it was common to say on when referring to Ås Farm. It is usually common to use the term on when it comes to farms. When Ås became a town, the preposition for Ås changed from the rectory to also referencing the town centre.
Since NMBU was established, more people have moved to Ås, especially the town centre. A part of the newcomers are from other parts of the country, and doesn’t speak the traditional Ås dialect. Many lectures and professors come from an academic background, and there is a chance they have brought with them a different use of prepositions. With more inhabitants, the new inhabitants become unsure on which preposition to use for Ås. Therefore, it has become more common to say in Ås, instead of on Ås, as the place changed from a farm to a bigger town.
So, what do the students say? In our research, there’s an almost even split between people who use in and on. But there’s also 21% who switch between in and on, and are clearly confused. From our research, it is clear that students use mostly in when speaking about the municipality, but to a lesser degree than those who moved here or grew up here does. The preposition confusion is not new to the students. In Ås students through the century from 1964, it says already on the seventh page that it is “the student society at the higher agricultural college on Aas and Samfunnet in Ås.” This is an indication that there was a divide, and there were no clear rules regarding the prepositions for Ås. In the book, the use of prepositions varies, but it seems it was more common to use on back in the day. Something that may influence students to use in is names like “UKA in Ås”, Samfunnet in Ås, “Studentsamskipnaden in Ås”. These are names that that students surround themselves with almost daily.
When it comes to native Ås people, there are many in “Ås kommunes venner” who sticks by on Ås. Even though the locals now consist of many new people who moved here, many people understand you use in Ås Municipality and in Ås town. Phrases like “on Ski in Ås” can occur when people live right by Ski, but still in Ås Municipality. The music video “Jeg bor på Ås”(translated “I live on Ås”) by Åsgård superstars proves that the use of on and in switches among youth as well. They might mean Ås Municipality, the tendencies show that more youth uses in instead of on about the town Ås.
According to Ingvil Nordland from The Language Council of Norway, this is a national trend that has existed for a while. She claims there are good reasons for calling Ås town centre, Ås town and possibly the entire area that makes up Ås parish as on Ås. Ingvil tells that many people have learned a rule of thumb that you use in about places along the coast, but several places used on even though they are along the coast. Unfortunately, there are many exceptions to this rule, and it's hard to stay on top of all of them. Ingvil says that it is correct to say in when it refers to a municipality or county municipality. We see from the survey that most people agree. Ingvil points out that people who move here or newer generations are not used to the prepositions used for Ås town and Ås Municipality.
Ingvild Nordland is writing her doctoral disseration on names of places, and the politics around these names, at the Institute for city- and regional planning at NMBU. Photo: Håkon Sparre
The survey Tuntreet conducted tells us that surprisingly enough students say on Ås, referring to the town, more than the locals do. Among those who grew up here, 54% used in, and 58% uses on when it comes to the town. Among students on the other hand, the use of in is down to 43%, while the switching is more prevalent among students (21%) compared to the locals (11%). We can therefore conclude that it is optional to use either in or on, while the Language Council recommends on when talking about Ås town. Moreover, you should always use in when speaking of a municipality, meaning Ås Municipality.
“According to Ingvil Nordland in the Language Council, the transition from on to in is gradual. It happens as a consequence of changes in settlement patterns, and increased mobility in the society. Changes in the society affects the language, and also names of places. Many will remember the rule of thumb from primary school where in is used about places along the coast (in Trondheim), while inland places without a coastline should have the preposition on (on Kongsberg). There are however always exceptions to this rule, so she thinks it worked better 50 years ago, than it does today. You need to keep in the back of your head that what was common years ago, isn’t necessarily common any more. In many places, the use of prepositions is wabbling, which means it is changing. Maybe in a decade we will say in Hamar and in Lillehammer instead of on?
Ingvil says there are good reasons for referring to towns and large parts of the parish as on Ås. Many, also those living inside this area say they live in Ås. But go shopping on Ås. This switch is less common among people who moved here recently and by young “natives”. Ingvil states that for a word ending with “municipality” or “town centre”, you say in Ås. That means its in Ås Municipality and Ås town centre. Our survey concludes that most people used in when speaking of the municipality.